Hastings Street is the name of the fourth album from the Los Angeles-based band Brazzaville. David Brown, the principal songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and vocalist wrote, "Hastings Street... is named after the infamous Hastings Street

Hastings Street (Vancouver)

Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...

 in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

. It is basically the skid row

Skid row

A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...

 of Vancouver, full of junkies and prostitutes. The title track on the CD was inspired by the life story of a guy I once met. There are several love songs on the record, including "Old Folks" and "It Only Hurts". There are also several stories about different characters. "Londres" is the tale of a young girl growing up in East L.A. She is surrounded by poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

 and violence. She listens to The Smiths

The Smiths

The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

and dreams of one day escaping to the promised land of Londres (London). "Love Is the Answer" is the story of an abused daughter who escapes to SF with her best friend. "Lagos Slums" is the story of a Nigerian man struggling to support his family in the New World of globalization." In reality, Hastings Street itself runs nearly twelve kilometers through two cities and to the locals less than two kilometers is considered "skid row."

Track listing

1. "Intro"
2. "Londres"
3. "Love Is the Answer"
4. "Old Folks"
5. "Hong Kong Cafe"
6. "Hastings Street"
7. "Single Apartment"
8. "Night Train to Moscow"
9. "Interlude"
10. 'Lagos Slums"
11. '17"
12. 'L.A. River Lady"
13. 'Left Out"
14. 'Asteroid Fields
15. "Dark Eyes"

The album is currently unreleased in the US.